Women played diverse and influential roles in the Byzantine Empire that extended far beyond the domestic affairs of each family.

Emperor Justinian I and Empress Theodora were the 6th Century golden couple of the Byzantine Empire. Think Jay-Z and Beyonce - but with a lot more chariots. Script and narration by Emma Nagouse ...

Irene of Athens was the first Greek-Roman empress to wield power as a sole ruler of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

The textbooks say the Byzantine Empire was a theocratic autocracy uniting ... when Justinian the Great, at the urging of Empress Theodora, sent soldiers to slaughter the murderous mob assembled ...

Teodora, a Roman courtesan and former slave girl, marries the Roman emperor Justinian and assumes the throne as Empress of Rome ... armed conflict erupt in both Byzantium and Rome.